This bill establishes a program called the "triple win program" in the Department of Education that provides tuition credits for eligible high school and post-secondary education students at state institutions of higher education through community service. To be eligible for a tuition credit, students must attend a public New Hampshire high school or be enrolled in a public institution of higher education in New Hampshire. Students who volunteer 100 hours in one calendar year at an approved volunteer site in New Hampshire will be eligible for a tuition credit of $2,500 per year, with a maximum of 8 tuition credits over an 8-year period totaling $20,000 in tuition credits. The bill also establishes a nonlapsing fund called the "triple win fund" in the treasury for the purpose of distributing tuition credits.

The bill does not provide sufficient funding to cover the estimated expenditures of the program. The Department of Education is unable to estimate the cost of the program, but provides an example that if 20% of the approximately 52,246 New Hampshire public/charter high school students take advantage of the program, the cost would be $25,000,000 per year. The Department estimates that it would need approximately one staff member per every 3,000 applicants to process and track student records, with an estimated annual cost of $110,000 per position. The bill does not appropriate funds or authorize new personnel. The bill should have no significant impact on revenues or expenditures of the Community College System of New Hampshire or University System of New Hampshire.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 6:12